Diagnostic tools that aid technicians in determining the source or sources of noise and vibration are known in the art. One such diagnostic tool is the ChassisEAR marketed by JS Products, Inc. This device is marketed as an electronic squeak and rattle finder and has several sensitive piezoelectric microphones mounted in alligator-type clamps available for attachment to a variety of vehicle components and structural elements where vibration that results from mechanical failure is suspected. The microphones of this device are coupled via electrical leads to a control box which includes vibration signal conversion circuitry for producing audible signals. The control box also includes switching means for selectively interconnecting each individual clamp microphone to the signal conversion circuitry and thereby selective connection to earphones for use by automotive repair technicians in determining through audible signal levels and signal types the locations and cause of a particular sound or noise that is generated during the operation of the vehicle.
Despite these advancements in the diagnostic capabilities of automotive repair technicians, several drawbacks have been noted with tools of this type. One such drawback relates to the wires that interconnect the clamp microphones and the control box. These wires are typically tie-wrapped to the chassis of the vehicle and fed through windows into the passenger compartment where they are then coupled to the control box. Great care is typically taken to secure and festoon the wires to thereby ensure that the wires are not entangled with a moving or rotating part of the vehicle or otherwise damaged during the operation of the vehicle.